WTNH News 8 VIDEO: Freezing Fat Cells in Problem Areas

WTNH News 8 VIDEO: Freezing Fat Cells in Problem Areas

Published : Tuesday, 09 Jul 2013, 6:06 PM EDT
by Jocelyn Maminta

GREENWICH, Conn. (WTNH) -- A lot of us have something we don't like about our bodies; for some, diet and exercise haven't done much to get rid of trouble spots. Now there's a new cool alternative to remove that excess flab.

Love handles and a muffin top bothered Chista Pooya. "I exercise, I watch what I eat, but sometimes it's not enough so I needed a little help," said Pooya.

So she got help at Greenwich Medical Spa. "This is for those stubborn fat areas," said Dr. Mitchell Ross, Greenwich Medical Spa. It's CoolSculpting: a non-invasive alternative to liposuction.

"It's a permanent loss of fat cells," said Dr. Ross. The technology, developed by Harvard doctors, decreases the thickness of fat by freezing fat cells. "We put this section on the person's flanks or abdomen," said Dr. Ross. "It uses a vacuum suction and extracts energy, in other words cools the area." Dr. Ross is a board certified dermatologist.

"It cools to an exact temperature in an exact period of time so that only your fat cells are affected and those are the ones that are crystallized and frozen," Dr. Ross said.

"It felt really cold when it went on, but then it was numb for about an hour," said Pooya. "After the freezing, the fat cells undergo a natural cell death," Dr. Ross said. "They get metabolized and cleared by your body. As a result your fat layers decrease anywhere from 22 to 50 percent after one treatment."

"When they did my flanks, I did have a little bit of minor bruising for about a week to two weeks," Pooya said. "When they did my belly, it was a little numb for the first two weeks or so."

Two-and-a-half months later Pooya said, "I don't have the muffin top anymore." She is considering fine sculpting another problem area.

Dr. Ross stresses that this is not a weight loss treatment. The cost starts at $600 and could take up to two hours for a session.